A Glimpse At The Oscars

Last Sunday saw the most prestigious film awards ceremony of the year take place: the 90th Academy Awards. Fantasy romance The Shape of Water dominated nominations, with dark comedy Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri, war film Dunkirk and drama Ladybird not far behind. But also among these, with a single nomination, was last year's Logan. Now, it's not unheard of for superhero films to get a nod at the Awards, and indeed last year saw both Suicide Squad (believe it or not) and Doctor Strange get nominations - for best makeup design and visual effects respectively. These categories, in fact, regularly have at least one superhero film in the mix. However, Logan is the first in the genre to get nominated for a best adapted screenplay award. In this post I shall examine the nomination, looking at why Logan in particular stands out from other superhero films.

Currently, the biggest players in the genre are Marvel and DC, both having established extensive cinematic universes in which to interlink numerous films and draw audiences toward their franchises. In terms of producing the content, they both operate on a basis of setting up new films with each instalment. 2016's Captain America: Civil War, is a good example, having served to set up Black Panther (2018),  Spider-Man Homecoming (2017) and this summer's Avengers: Infinity War. Each movie is planned years in advance and must tick certain boxes - both to remain consistent with the universe as whole, as well as to establish elements for future content. The results are films that stick to a common formula, with scenes or moments not directly relevant to their contained plots and unnecessary cameos from characters that link to different films. An example is Thor: Ragnarok's inclusion of a scene with Doctor Strange (straight from the film of the same title), which garnered criticism for feeling forced and unneeded.

Doctor Strange's appearance in Thor: Ragnorok split audiences. 

Several post-screening surveys (of over 70 participants),

suggested over 80% of viewers found an unnecessary addition. 

Now, Logan is part of a franchise too - Marvel's X-men franchise (separate from the MCU) - yet avoids these pitfalls. It portrays events which have little impact on the (cinematic) universe it is a part of, and everything works within the single narrative. Nothing exists simply to establish conflict or characters for a sequel. The result is a film that feels very self-contained; an end in itself rather than a means to one. The only other superhero film to have been nominated for a writing award is Brad Bird's The Incredibles (2004, for best original screenplay), and this is much the same. Clearly these qualities resonate with the Academy.

Another way Logan stands out is in successfully pushing the boundaries of the genre. Typically action films don't get much attention from the Academy (look at the nominations from any given year), but those that have, have stood out for excelling within, as well as going beyond, the conventions of the genre. Logan does just this. Though telling the story of a superhero - and one of the most compelling in cinema history - the film has been described as "like a survival thriller" that sells itself as a "Peckinpah-inspired Western". Indeed, it is full of elements from both of these genres - invoking Western iconography through it's setting and focusing on themes of sacrifice and threats of (explicit) violence. Consequently, it feels unlike any superhero movie before it. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) did something similar, mixing action tropes with road movie and Western ones, and effectively utilising it's action set-pieces for exposition as well as character and plot development, rather than just spectacle. It earned a best picture nomination.

These examples don't have to be the exceptions to the rule, and hopefully will inspire studios to ensure their films function effectively as self-contained works, and broaden what is possible within the genre. There's no reason why a superhero film cannot one day win best picture. But with Marvel continuing to break box office records with their cameo-infested formula films and Warner Bros. looking to do the same, unfortunately this could be a long way off.